Harmon’s five-point effort leads Team King past Team Kloss in PWHL 3-on-3 showcase

Feb 1, 2024 | 7:20 PM

TORONTO — Savannah Harmon had a hat trick and added two assists to lead Team King to a 5-3 win over Team Kloss on Thursday in the Professional Women’s Hockey League showcase at the NHL all-star weekend.

Ella Shelton and Kendall Coyne Schofield added goals for Team King. Anne-Renee Desbiens made eight saves starting the first half, while Aerin Frankel turned away five shots in relief.

Alex Carpenter, Jocelyne Larocque and Brianne Jenner for Team Kloss. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped six shots starting the opening half, with Nicole Hensley making six saves in relief.

The 20-minute game was split into two periods and held in a 3-on-3 format with players from all six PWHL teams in front of a crowd of 16,392 at Scotiabank Arena. The teams were named after PWHL advisory board members Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss. 

PWHL special advisor Cassie Campbell-Pascall was behind the bench for Team King, with two-time Olympic figure skating gold medallist Tessa Virtue serving as a celebrity coach. 

New Jersey Devils director of player development Meghan Duggan coached Team Kloss, with WNBA star Jonquel Jones alongside her as a celebrity coach.

Shelton opened the scoring just 59 seconds into the first period. She put away a backhand off a centring pass from Harmon past Maschmeyer.

Carpenter knotted it for Team Kloss just over a minute later. Desbiens whiffed on a clearing attempt and Carpenter was all alone to take the puck and fire it home.

Larocque made it 2-1 for Team Kloss 4:26 into the first. She was sprung on a breakaway by Carpenter, who was on the opposite end of the ice, and Larocque roofed it over the left shoulder of Desbiens.

Harmon tied it up for Team King with 20.6 seconds left in the frame. She tapped in a tight-rope pass through traffic from Marie-Philip Poulin. 

Harmon netted her second of the game 3:05 into the second. She made good on a centring pass from Poulin in the slot.

Harmon completed the hat trick 35 seconds later. She scored off a backhanded centring pass from Coyne Schofield, with teammates throwing their gloves on the ice in celebration.

Coyne Schofield scored at 6:45 to make it a three-goal game. She tipped in a pass from Harmon, who sent it from the right face-off circle, with the puck seemingly going off Coyne Schofield’s skate. 

Jenner scored with 1:06 left in the contest after Team Kloss pulled Hensley for an extra attacker. Jenner netted a one-timer off a pass from Laura Stacey.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2024.

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press